Apr 19, 2010 0
One of the most critical elections in living memory is about to happen. Make sure you have a say in the issues that matter to you.
If you’re not registered to vote, you must register by 20 April to be able to vote on 6 May.
Visit http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/ to find out more and register to vote.
Apr 15, 2010 0
With the General Election on 6th May, there is still time to arrange a postal vote. Voting by post is an easy and convenient way of voting if you are unable to get to the polling station on polling day – for any reason.
Applications to vote by post must also be received no later than 11 working days before Polling Day. With the General Election taking place on Thursday 6 May the deadline to apply for a postal vote, or to amend or cancel existing postal or proxy voting arrangements, will be 5pm on Tuesday 20 April.
All eligible electors have the right to organise to vote by post rather than attend their allocated Polling Station.
A postal vote can be sent to your home address or to any other address that you give. Postal votes can be sent overseas, but you need to consider whether there will be enough time to receive and return your ballot paper by election day.
Postal votes are usually sent out about a week before election day (the exact date will vary depending on your local Council), to give you time to complete it and send it back so that it arrives by close of poll (10pm on May 6th).
The Liberal Democrats have created a tool to make registering for a postal vote easy. Available online now at https://www.libdems.org.uk/vote_by_post.aspx all you need to do is:
Apr 14, 2010 0
The manifesto sets out four clearer steps to a fairer Britain:
The manifesto, unlike those of either Labour or the Conservatives, does not promise something for nothing; each spending commitment is fully costed in a published appendix to the document. Cuts are set out such as scrapping the Government’s ID Cards scheme, abolishing like-for-like Trident replacement and cutting bureaucracy on things like local government inspection.
The manifesto is available on the Liberal Democrat national web site.
Gareth was a member of Vince Cable’s Tax Commission which did the preparatory work to set out the party’s tax proposals, and was involved with the production of the 2001 and 2005 manifestos. Gareth says:-
“This is a manifesto for the people – who want to be able to trust politicians. It is an emphatic rejection of the failure of 65 years of Labour and Conservative politicians who reduce people’s expectations to the bare minimum and then break even the limited promises they make.
“It sets out answers to the issues being raised by people on the doorsteps all across Reading East.
“It sets out proposals for fairer taxes that will take thousands of local people out of paying tax altogether, and put £700 a year back in many people’s pocket, paid for by closing loopholes and green taxes. And it sets out exactly how it is paid for.
“The manifesto is also the only one to have a green spine running right the way through. For Britain to come out of the recession and face the future does mean we must tackle an environmental crisis, seen in poor air quality affecting much of our area.
“Only the Liberal Democrats have had the honesty to face up to the budget crisis facing the country. You can’t get something or nothing – yet the Conservatives offered more of the same. That is a gross deception and the people I’ve been speaking to aren’t fooled by it. Labour are out of the race in Reading East, but they offered little difference to the Conservatives.
“The message is: if you want honesty, vote Liberal Democrat. If you want to see change in Liberal Democrat. If you want fairness, vote Liberal Democrat. And if you do that, you will have a Liberal Democrat MP in Reading East because we can win here.”
Apr 1, 2010 0
The Liberal Democrat agent has written to the Labour Party accusing it of libelling his candidate in Reading West.
Councillor Warren Swaine, who is acting as agent for Cllr Daisy Benson standing in the General Election in the constituency, has written to his opposite number in the Labour Party Robert Owen making the complaint.
He accused the party of spreading “negative comments and smears”.
His complaint is based on an article in the Labour Party’s Reading and Woodley Banner under the headline ‘Liberals “too busy” to care’.
Although the article does not refer to Cllr Benson by name it is clearly about her.
It said: “Having failed to deliver an important scrutiny report on children’s health in Reading she failed to turn up at the meeting due to discuss it.”
It goes on: “What kind of MP is she likely to be if she is already ‘too busy’ to do her job as a councillor?”
Cllr Swaine, referring to a report on the subject in the Reading Post, said in his letter: “In this case the Reading Post was quite clear in its reporting. ‘Cllr Benson is not a member and was not present at Tuesday night’s meeting’.
“By making the statement: ‘She failed to turn up at the meeting due to discuss the report’ you have clearly sought to libel my candidate in the eyes of the electorate by implying that she was expected to attend the children’s panel which as the Post correctly reported, she is not a member.”
He calls on the Labour Party to withdraw both the Reading West and Reading East Banners from circulation with immediate effect.
He added: “Failure to do so will be taken as a sign that you are continuing to disseminate the libel.”
Cllr Pete Ruhemann, responding on behalf of the Labour Party, said: “The scrutiny report on children’s health was on the agenda of the education and children’s health scrutiny panel in February and there should have been joint recommendations from the two chairs for forwarding to cabinet.
“It would have been all right for Cllr Benson not to be at that meeting had she and Cllr Ralph had the time to get together to draw up joint recommendations to their two panels, but in fact that has still not been done six weeks later.
“We regard the article in the Reading Banner as fair comment.
“The Lib Dems are very ready to attack other parties, it is sad that they can’t take it.”
Reading West Tory candidate Alok Sharma said: “I believe it is incredibly important, especially at a time when politicians generally are held in such low regard by the general public, that we demonstrate by our actions that politics need not be a dirty game.
“Nasty, negative campaigning turns off voters and I hope that going forward in this campaign candidates will refrain from making personal attacks against, or misleading statements about, other candidates in written literature or verbally.”
Original story from getreading
Jan 14, 2010 0
The Liberal Democrats nationally launched a major manifesto pledge as part of our ‘Green New Deal’ to bring a quarter of a million empty homes back into use nationwide, creating some 65,000 jobs. Reading East prospective Liberal Democrat MPGareth Epps has welcomed reports by Reading Borough Council of action to tackle empty properties since the Lib Dem move for the Council to do more.
Gareth moved the motion in October 2007 that got Reading Borough Council to agree to a strategy to take action on empty homes, after the Labour Council took their eye off the ball for many years.
The Liberal Democrats have also uncovered that the true number of empty properties in Reading is 2,543 – many times more than Reading Borough Council claims. The figures are arrived at from Council Tax statistics.
Gareth said:-
“The action being taken by Reading Borough Council as a direct result of Liberal Democrat action is welcome.
“But locally and nationally we could do so much more. Nationally the package announced will provide a vital economic stimulus for the green economy. Locally we need to continue to develop action to tackle empty homes.
“Lib Dems today have set out where our priorities lie: fairness, new jobs and a roof over people’s heads. It’s a scandal that so many empty homes lie abandoned. Our action, locally and nationally, is about providing a real win-win for local communities.”
Editor’s Notes:
The Liberal Democrats today set out plans to bring a quarter of a million empty homes back into use, making homes available for people who need them and creating 65,000 jobs.
There are over 760,000 empty properties across England which are no longer used as homes but can be brought back into use with some investment. People who own these homes will get a grant or a cheap loan to renovate them so they can be used: grants if the home is for social housing, loans for private use.
A full breakdown of the number of empty homes in each English local authority is attached
The plans form part of the economic stimulus package outlined as a core principle of the Liberal Democrat election manifesto. In the first year of the new Parliament, the party would redirect over £3.6bn of spending to create jobs and build up Britain’s infrastructure. In the following years this money will be redirected to other Lib Dem spending priorities and reducing the structural deficit.
Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg today launched the plans with Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable and Liberal Democrat Shadow Housing Minister, Sarah Teather. Visiting the College of North West London, they met students on construction and engineering courses who would benefit from these new plans.
Dec 17, 2009 0
Reading’s Liberal Democrat prospective MP for Reading East, Cllr Gareth Epps, and leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Reading Borough Council, Cllr Kirsten Bayes, started a new advice surgery for members of the town’s significant Polish community on Saturday 12 December.
The idea of the surgery came about following discussions with the Liberal Democrat Friends of Poland group. From discussions with the local community, concerns were raised that the language barrier and discrimination faced by many Poles left some struggling to cope with a variety of issues.
The surgery, held in the Gospoda bar/restaurant on Bedford Road, was very successful, going an hour beyond its scheduled time in order for all those attending to be seen. Polish translation was offered by community leader Mariusz Rapa.
Commenting, Gareth said:-
‘Liberal Democrats work for and support all residents, regardless of background or origin. I’m hoping to be able to talk to other Reading communities too through offering our help and support to get things done.
‘As EU citizens the Polish community can vote for their councillor though they are not entitled to vote at UK General Elections – but that doesn’t mean we should turn our back on them. They contribute hugely to the local economy – and they face the same kind of problems that many of us do. With the help of translators to overcome language barriers, we can help people look after themselves and get support to combat exploitation.’
Kirsten said:-
‘The need for the community to have access to advice was clear. Reading offers many excellent support and advice services, but at times residents need that bit of extra help. The issues coming up were varied, but highlighted the problems that people can face with employment and housing in particular.’
John Oakes, founding Secretary of the Liberal Democrat Friends of Poland (standing in photo) said:
“We aim to ensure that all EU citizens have full access to the local council and other services they are entitled to, so we hope that Polish-language surgeries like this soon become the norm across the country.”
Nov 6, 2009 0
Reading East’s Liberal Democrat prospective MP and one of the leaders of the Jollydarity campaign to reopen Newtown’s Jolly Anglers, Cllr Gareth Epps, has hailed as a ‘massive victory’ the news that Enterprise Inns has lifted the restrictive covenant on the community pub, closed in brutal fashion in June – permitting it to reopen.
Gareth has been heavily involved with negotiations with the pub’s new owners and prospective publicans on behalf of Jollydarity. He has been in regular contact with the owners, their agent and others, and has led attempts to persuade them that the Kennetside pub can reopen and be viable as a pub. The news was confirmed last night (Thursday 5 November).
The news has national implications as this is possibly the first time Enterprise Inns has agreed to lift a restrictive covenant it has imposed. The news will be welcomed by CAMRA and groups campaigning for an end to restrictive covenants that see often viable community pubs forced to close. The all-party Commons Business & Enterprise Committee in May urged the Government to outlaw this use of restrictive covenants – the Government is due to respond to the Select Committee report.
Gareth has campaigned for changes in the law to give publicans a fair deal. He conducted a pub survey across Reading East in the summer and has worked with leading pub campaigner Greg Mulholland MP (Lib Dem, Leeds NW) on taking action on the conclusions, published in September. The survey gained national coverage for the picture it gave of life working for Enterprise Inns and other ‘pubcos’.
Commenting, Gareth said:-
“This is a massive victory for the local community in Newtown. From the night the Jolly Anglers closed, it was clear people wanted their pub back and were prepared for a community campaign like no other. That campaign has been a spectacular success, and I am delighted to have been part of it. Every Newtown resident and every CAMRA member who helped Jollydarity should be feeling really proud, and I thank them all.
It is a victory of national significance. Enterprise Inns’ about-turn in lifting its restrictive covenant will give pub campaigners hope all across the country. The covenant should never have been imposed in the first place.
Now we just cross our fingers and hope we will be able to celebrate news of a new tenant shortly. There remain many issues to be addressed for publicans to get a fair deal. Wholesale price rip-offs, aggressive rent reviews and other pubco behaviour puts pub tenants working for pubcos in a situation where they’re running their pub with both hands tied behind their back. In many ways the news for Jolly Anglers is even better than expected, as it looks like the pub will be free of the pubco cosh.”
Gareth also commented on the actions of Reading East’s Conservative MP in prematurely announcing a deal before it had been signed – leading to much anger being directed against the MP for potentially placing the deal in jeopardy:-
“The Conservatives, notably, did got get involved in Jollydarity events. The way their MP has behaved – announcing a deal had been signed when those involved told him and me that it had not – was tawdry and unacceptable. The behaviour of the Conservatives, sadly, potentially put the deal in jeopardy; it does them no credit.”
Nov 2, 2009 0
Cllr Gareth Epps, Liberal Democrat prospective MP for Reading East, has asked for calm following intense speculation over the future of the Jolly Anglers pub in Newtown. Gareth has been closely involved from the start with the Jollydarity campaign to save the pub.
Following wild speculation issued in a press release by Conservatives unconnected to the Jollydarity campaign, Gareth contacted those directly involved with the current status of the pub.
Gareth has issued the following statement:
“Any speculation about the pub reopening is only speculation (at this stage), and it would be irresponsible to say anything that could put negotiations in jeopardy.
If it is true that Enterprise Inns have released the restrictive covenant, that is fantastic news – it means the Jolly can reopen. More than that, if there is any news, it will be a tremendous success for Newtowners and for the campaign, and possibly the first time Enterprise has willingly released a covenant anywhere in the UK.”
Oct 31, 2009 0
Liberal Democrat Parliamentary campaigner and prospective MP for Reading East, Cllr Gareth Epps, has pledged his support for Vote Cruelty Free, a new non-partisan coalition of animal protection organisations working to put animals on the political agenda.
The alliance has sent its manifesto to all candidates announced for the next General Election and asked them to show their support for the issues raised.
Commenting, Gareth said:-
“Part of the mark of tolerance any society has is about how it treats the creatures surrounding it. Many of the initiatives supported by Vote Cruelty Free do not only demonstrate concern for the welfare of animals – they are good for the planet.
“It’s important for example that we make sure the government works with farmers and retailers so that ordinary people can afford to feed their families with humanely farmed food.”
A Vote Cruelty Free spokesperson said,
“Animal protection is an issue close to the UK public’s heart but this is often not reflected in current political debate. It is fantastic that Gareth Epps has shown he believes in animal protection issues as much as his constituents in Reading East; we are calling on all candidates to follow his lead by pledging their support for Vote Cruelty Free.”
Vote Cruelty Free comprises the BUAV, Compassion in World Farming, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), League Against Cruel Sports and Respect for Animals. It covers a broad range of animal welfare issues including wild and marine animals, animal experimentation, cruel sports, the fur trade and farming.
Editor’s Notes:
The Vote Cruelty Free campaign is urging all candidates to pledge their support for the initiative. Voters can track candidates who have signed up by visiting the Vote Cruelty Free web site
